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EAST AREA - Unwrapped toys, games, and other presents for local kids in need weren’t the only gifts carried by attendees at the East Area Progressive Democrats’ Heart and Soul Awards on December 7. Newly elected Councilmember Ysabel Jurado showed up with her official proclamation of victory, signed by the L.A. city clerk.
Jurado’s visit, under sunny December skies, capped a celebratory afternoon that drew together nearly 100 EAPD members and supporters, several of whom had devoted months to volunteer campaign work for winning candidates who came to say thanks. It was a day of reunions and joy at which the dread about Trump 2.0 and attacks against vulnerable Americans, health, human rights, and the environment took a back seat to appreciation for successes that will fortify resistance to such threats.
Two honorees at the event echoed the message of solidarity and determination: 32-year L.A. city engineer, infrastructure expert, and water agency executive Adel Hagekhakil and labor educator and co-founder of Parents Supporting Teachers, the public-education advocacy network, Nicolle Fefferman.
Fefferman was joined by her two sons and husband Danny along with her parents and was introduced by EAPD Public Education Committee co-chair Tracy Abbott Cook. “Much like the battle between the Merrimack and the Monitor during the Civil War revolutionized naval warfare, formation of Parents Supporting Teachers (PST) ushered in a new era of engagement with the public to advocate for and protect public schools,” Abbott Cook told the crowd.
Nicolle Fefferman, a teacher, labor advocate, and co-founder of Parents Supporting Teachers, received a Heart & Soul Award from EAPD president Hans Johnson
Fefferman spoke about launching PST six years ago, in December 2018, in preparation for an expected strike by members of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) in January 2019 so that parents could show solidarity, arrange for child care, and coordinate plans. The response was immediate, organic, and overwhelming. More than 20,000 Angelenos enrolled in the organization’s Facebook community. That has mushroomed to nearly 30,000, spanning the entire city. The EAPD award to Fefferman cited her success to build that “network strengthened by teachers’, parents’, and union values to win for ALL students.”
Hagekhalil, prior recipient of the most prestigious prize in his profession, the Cleary Award from the American Association of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES), called recognition by EAPD “an honor he will deeply cherish.”
Adel Hagekhalil receives Heart & Soul Award from introducer and environmental leader Charming Evelyn and EAPD president Hans Johnson.
Sierra Club water-policy advocate Charming Evelyn praised Hagekhalil as a champion for long-ignored communities and for environmental justice. Paul Koretz, the former state Assemblymember, City Councilmember, and board member on the Metropolitan Water District (MWD), noted in his own remarks that Hagekhalil’s efforts to modernize MWD and overcome a culture of bullying and cronyism put him in the crosshairs of backwards holdovers on the MWD board.
Hagekhalil’s light-blue trophy from EAPD highlighted his “world-class leadership for smarter, more sustainable water policy and meeting adversity with grace and integrity.”
He spoke to attendees sporting on the lapel of his blue suit an elegant gold pin. Its 17 colors reflect the Sustainable Development Goals recognized by the United Nations as key ingredients for peace, ending poverty, creating shared prosperity, and protecting human rights and the environment. The goals include “quality education” along with “gender equity” and “clean water and sanitation.” The dove emblem of the U.N. flutters in the pin’s center.
Elected officials taking part in the EAPD awards reception included newly elected L.A. Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, who was greeted warmly in brief remarks by Councilmember Eunisses Hernández, in whose 1st District the gathering occurred.
Nearly 100 members and supporters of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD) attended the organization’s Heart & Soul Awards in Highland Park on Saturday, December 7.
L.A. School Board Member Dr. Rocío Rivas and Board Vice President Scott Schmerelson, just reelected despite a blitz of spending against him of $4.9 million by out-of-state billionaire Bill Bloomfield, mingled warmly with fellow EAPD members. Both effusively congratulated Fefferman, a resident of Valley Village and Schmerelson’s constituent in Board District 3.
Also attending were Glendale City Clerk Suzie Abajian, Glendale School Board Member Ingrid Gunnell, and Burbank City Councilmember Konstantine Anthony. Anthony Portantino, who recently completed two terms in the state Senate and partnered with EAPD on several gun-safety, public-education, and environmental bills, came to thank EAPD volunteers for work on campaigns throughout 2024. And Tony Chapa, a representative for L.A. Supervisor Hilda Solis, presented the honorees and the club with certificates of appreciation.
It is often said that change-making at the community level — through coalition-building, recruiting and guiding candidates, advocacy on legislation and land use, and activating voters — is thankless work. The Heart & Soul Awards by EAPD aimed to correct that. At the end of a grueling election year with fierce challenges ahead for honest democracy, this event sought to fill the void of gratitude for efforts to improve local governance. It was a success in its own right.
(Hans Johnson is a longtime leader for LGBTQ+ human rights, environmental justice, and public education. His columns appear in national news outlets including USA Today and in top daily news outlets of more than 20 states. A resident of Eagle Rock, he is also president of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), the largest grassroots Democratic club in California, with more than 1,100 members.)
